State v. Simmons, 17CA16
| Decision Date | 15 May 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 17CA16,17CA16 |
| Citation | 2018 Ohio 2018,112 N.E.3d 327 |
| Parties | STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Nathan P. SIMMONS, Defendant–Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Brian A. Smith, Akron, Ohio, for Appellant.
Kevin A. Rings, Washington County Prosecuting Attorney, and Nicole Tipton Coil, Washington County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Marietta, Ohio, for Appellee.
DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
{¶ 1} This is an appeal from a Washington County Common Pleas Court judgment of conviction and sentence. The trial court found Nathan Simmons, defendant below and appellant herein, guilty of five fifth-degree felony drug-possession offenses. Appellant assigns the following errors for review:
{¶ 2} On July 29, 2016, a Washington County grand jury returned an indictment that charged appellant with five drug-possession offenses, each a fifth-degree felony. In September 2016, the General Assembly amended the drug-possession statute, R.C. 2925.11. The amendment generally grants immunity to a "qualified individual" who otherwise could be charged with a misdemeanor- or fifth-degree felony drug-possession offense. For immunity to attach, the individual must satisfy the statutory requirements.
{¶ 3} Appellant filed a motion to request the court to find him immune from prosecution under the amended statute. Appellant argued that he is a "qualified individual" under the statute and that he meets all of the requirements outlined in the statute. Appellant asserted that on July 5, 2015, he was found unresponsive due to a suspected heroin overdose and emergency medical personnel revived him with Narcan. Appellant further claimed that he returned to his drug treatment program less than three weeks later, and remained in treatment until September 19, 2016. Appellant thus contended that he is a "qualified individual" and is therefore immune from prosecution under the amended statute.
{¶ 4} In support of his motion, appellant attached a letter from his drug-treatment counselor that stated:
{¶ 5} Appellant thus alleged that the evidence shows that: (1) he was charged after a drug overdose and was treated by emergency medical personnel; (2) he "returned to counseling for his addiction within thirty (30) days of his overdose"; and (3) he remained in treatment until September 19, 2016. Appellant further asserted that he "is ready, willing and able to provide the prosecuting attorney any necessary documentation required under the statute."
{¶ 6} The state, however, opposed appellant's motion for immunity under R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b). The state first asserted that appellant is not a "qualified individual" under 2925.11(B)(2)(b)(ii). That provision specifies that to be entitled to immunity, the "qualified individual" must seek or obtain a screening and receive a referral for treatment within thirty days of obtaining medical treatment. The state argued that appellant did not present evidence that he sought a screening and received a referral for treatment within thirty days of his overdose, but instead, he showed only that he returned to his previous counseling.
{¶ 7} The state also claimed that even if appellant is a "qualified individual," the amended statute does not apply to individuals, like appellant, who committed a drug possession offense before the amendment's effective date. The state asserted that the General Assembly did not explicitly indicate that the statute applies retroactively, and thus, the statute applies prospectively only.
{¶ 8} The state also asserted that R.C. 1.58(B) does not apply. The state noted that R.C. 1.58(B) provides that if a statutory amendment reduces the penalty, forfeiture, or punishment for any offense, then "the penalty, forfeiture, or punishment, if not already imposed, shall be imposed according to the statute as amended." The state claimed, however, that R.C. 2929.11(B)(2)(b) did not reduce the penalty or punishment for a drug possession offense. The state maintained that R.C. 2929.11(B)(2)(b) immunity is not the same as a reduction in penalty or punishment.
{¶ 9} In response, appellant asserted that he had received a screening and a referral for treatment within thirty days of his overdose. Appellant included a second letter from his drug-treatment provider. This letter stated that when appellant
{¶ 10} Appellant further disputed the state's assertion that R.C. 1.58(B) is inapplicable to R.C. 2929.11(B)(2)(b). Appellant argued that immunity, by definition, prevents a person from being prosecuted or penalized, and as such, immunity constitutes a reduction in penalty.
{¶ 11} On March 9, 2017, the trial court overruled appellant's motion. The court determined that the amendment is more in the nature of a repeal of criminal conduct, rather than a reduction in penalty. The court found that under R.C. 1.58(A), The court reasoned:
{¶ 12} Appellant subsequently entered no contest pleas to the five counts of the indictment. The court found appellant guilty and sentenced him in accordance with the parties' agreement. This appeal followed
{¶ 13} In his first assignment of error, appellant asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by overruling his motion for immunity under R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b). He contends that the trial court incorrectly determined that the amendment is more in the nature of a repeal of criminal conduct subject to R.C. 1.58(A), rather than a reduction in penalty subject to R.C. 1.58(B). Appellant argues that the amendment does not repeal the offense of drug possession, but instead, the amendment reduces the penalty for qualified individuals.
{¶ 14} The state argues that R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b) does not apply to appellant. The state points out that appellant's offenses occurred before the effective date of R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b) and that the statute does not contain any indication that it applies retroactively. The state further asserts that even if the statute did apply retroactively, appellant failed to satisfy all of the requirements specified in the statute.
{¶ 15} We initially note that both parties advocate that we apply an abuse-of-discretion standard to the trial court's decision regarding the statute's applicability to appellant's situation. The state cites two cases to support its assertion that an abuse-of-discretion applies: Urbana ex rel. Newlin v. Downing , 43 Ohio St.3d 109, 113, 539 N.E.2d 140 (1989), and State v. Brumback , 109 Ohio App.3d 65, 77, 671 N.E.2d 1064 (9th Dist. 1996). Both cases indicate that appellate courts review trial court decisions regarding evidence-admissibility for an abuse of discretion. Neither case, however, addresses the standard of review that applies when reviewing a trial court's decision concerning the applicability of a statute. Appellant simply asserts that appellate courts "review[ ] the denial of a motion for an abuse of discretion." We do not believe that the abuse-of-discretion standard applies in the case sub judice.
{¶ 16} "When a court's judgment is based on an erroneous interpretation of the law, an abuse-of-discretion standard is not appropriate." Med. Mut. of Ohio v. Schlotterer, 122 Ohio St.3d 181, 2009-Ohio-2496, 909 N.E.2d 1237, ¶ 13 ; accord State v. Morris, 132 Ohio St.3d 337, 2012-Ohio-2407, 972 N.E.2d 528, ¶ 16. Instead, when the "trial court decision being challenged d[oes] not involve the exercise of discretion, but [i]s based on a question of law, no deference is afforded." Wagner v. Roche Laboratories, 85 Ohio St.3d 457, 460, 709 N.E.2d 162 (1999) ; accord Wray v. Wessell , 4th Dist. Scioto No. 15CA3724, 2016-Ohio-8584, 2016 WL 7912885, ¶ 13.
{¶ 17} In the case at bar, appellant challenges the trial court's decision to overrule his motion that requested R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b) immunity. The trial court examined R.C. 1.58 and determined that R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b) operated as a repeal of an existing statute, rather than a reduction in penalty. The court thus concluded that under R.C. 1.58(A), the recently-amended 2925.11(B)(2)(b) did not apply to an individual who, like appellant, committed the offense and was arrested or charged before the statute's effective date. Appellant's first assignment of error thus, in essence, questions whether the trial court correctly interpreted R.C. 1.58 and R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b).
{¶ 18} The abuse-of-discretion standard does not apply to a trial court's interpretation of a statute. Rather, the correct interpretation of a statute is a question of law...
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